Trucker Arjun's rescue: uncertainty following inclement weather
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Angola/Karnataka: The mission to find Arjun, a Kerala trucker who went missing in a landslide on the National Highway 66 in Uttara Kannada's Angola, has reached uncertainty again. On the 10th day of the rescue operation for the native of Kozhikode, due to the heavy current in the Gangavali, a deep examination wasn't conducted in the river, and the Navy cited it as a deadly challenge.
Due to inclement weather, the drone inspection was also temporarily suspended. The Navy stopped searching and shored the boats employed for rescue. Meanwhile, wooden logs from the cargo of the lorry driven by Arjun were found among the houses near the Gangavali River. Officials said the residents collected the logs that had flowed down the river after the landslide.
According to officials, the river has a current of five to six knots. A team entered the river twice but returned due to the current, while an attempt to go deep using dead weights was also shelved. The river situation is not ideal for diving, either.
The strong current in the river does not allow the Navy and NDRF boats to be used in the rescue mission, posing a challenge for the search. It was confirmed yesterday that Arjun's lorry is 15 metres deep in the river and 40 meters from the shore, but it is not clear how much soil is there burying the lorry in the river bed.
The lorry can be pulled out only if the entire soil in this area is removed. First, it is going to be checked whether there is anyone inside the lorry. If there is, the lorry would be lifted out only after taking them out. It has been decided that a special platform to lift the lorry has been installed in the river.